A Tasmanian devil with a cancerous growth on its face is held by a handler. The Tasmanian devil is an endangered species due to a mysterious disease that has slashed their numbers in Tasmania's wilderness... (HOGP)

(Newser)
–
Drive over one narrow isthmus in Tasmania, and then another, and you'll reach Tasman Peninsula, the last place on Earth where wild Tasmanian devils live apart from a contagious cancer that threatens the marsupials' existence. Conservationists are doing everything they can to keep it that way. Devil-proof barriers, flashing roadside alarms, and infrared cameras are protecting the species from their two greatest threats: cancer and cars. There are even plans for a sort of trap door that would keep diseased devils from crossing a bridge to reach the Tasman Peninsula. "Saving the wild devils on the Tasman Peninsula is the Holy Grail of the whole thing—can we save a natural, wild population of devils and isolate them?" said John Hamilton, a partner in the Peninsula Devil Conservation Project. "And pretty much we have so far."

The muscle-bound predator-scavenger with a ferocious growl—the inspiration for the cartoon character Taz—is endangered by a mysterious cancer that has slashed its numbers in Tasmania by as much as 90%, transferred by the devil's powerful bite. And they do a lot of biting, whether squabbling over a carcass or mating. Facial wounds develop grotesque tumors that eventually prevent them from eating. The disease started in the northeast and is spreading west and south; the Tasman Peninsula offers the only feasible geographic bulwark. The size of the population there is unknown: "We've got dozens, but maybe not hundreds," Hamilton said. A major hope for the wild devil is the quest for a vaccine. Scientists released 19 immunized devils into a Tasmanian park where the disease exists in September, and 18 produced immune responses. However, even if the vaccine works, that will not pass to offspring. "Every single devil down here is incredibly precious," Hamilton said. "These are the last isolated, healthy, safe, wild devils on the planet."

Extinction may be nature's way of eliminating species which has occurred since time immemorial.

Jajoom

May 25, 2016 9:53 PM CDT

While I won't be sad to see these vicious little guys go extinct I do believe that this cancer wiping them out can somehow be traced back to mankind. Now if only this cancer could throw the rat and mouse and cockroach and mosquito and tick population into extinction then I'd be as happy as a clam

FusionShard Productions

May 23, 2016 7:45 AM CDT

Dude I don't say this much but the picture of that Devil made me tear up, they may be vicious little creatures but in that picture it looked just like a sad dog begging its owner for help. Even if you don't believe in him may god have mercy on us all because we are destroying the home he gave us as well as his other creations.